When I Have You
by Artificial Lullaby
Summary: The Dark Ocean makes one last, desperate attempt to claim Hikari for itself, and this time it's more serious than before. Takari towards the end.


Okay. This is what I believe would happen, were the Dark Ocean to have a last ditch attempt at trying to claim poor little Hikari-chan. So yeah. May seem random, but stick with it.

She could always tell when it was coming, but that never made it less terrifying

She could always tell when it was coming, but that never made it less terrifying. She could feel the chill begin to steal over her skin before the lap of the tides and the bite of the winds on her face. She rose from her bed as soon as it began, and began to move towards the door, a sudden shock of vertigo causing her to stumble ever so slightly.

She closed her eyes for a brief moment, trying to catch her balance, and when she opened them, she gasped. The Dark Ocean's waves moved to lap chillingly against her legs, the cold seeping though to her bones more swiftly with each wave.

"Hikari!"

She turned to see her Digimon partner bounding towards her through the waves, her paws splashing through the water. Unable to hold herself up any longer, Hikari fell to her knees as the ocean began to roar in the distance.

"Tailmon!" Hikari gasped, taking the feline creature into her arms. "You have to help me. They're coming for me again."

Tailmon started up at her, and before she could say anything else, began to bound away.

"Come back!" she called. Tailmon turned back to her and gave a brief sound of feline sorrow, before she skittered off into the distance, the mist drawing in around her.

"Tailmon! Don't leave me on my own," she called.

"I'm home, Hikari!" Yagami Taichi called as he dropped his bag to the floor. Not hearing an answer, he shrugged it off. She was probably still in the digital world with her friends. He pulled a bottle of milk from the fridge and filled up a glass.

He heard a thud from the next room, his and Hikari's shared room, and as he put the bottle of milk back into fridge he heard his sister shout for her digimon.

Drained his glass, but not before he heard another thud, and what he recognised as the sound of claws on the door.

"Hikari? Tailmon?" he called, moving closer to the door, and from within he heard a wimper, followed briefly by a sob.

"Taichi? Is that you?" called Tailmon from inside the room. "Hikari's collapsed behind the door and I can't move her."

"What's wrong?" he barked, moving closer to the door. "Is she sick again?"

"No, it's the Dark Ocean," the digimon called back. "It's come for her again."

Taichi paused for a second, unsure of what to do when he heard his sister's voice break through the door.

"No!" she shouted, her voice thick with tears. "Don't leave me on my own!"

"Hikari! Can you hear me?"

For a brief second nothing happened, and he could only think the worst had happened until he heard Tailmon' voice through the door once again.

"I'm trying to move her, but I'm just not big enough. Call Takeru, he's always best at driving back the Dark Ocean."

Tai nodded and almost ran to the phone, punching in Takeru's home number. He did it wrong twice because his hands were shaking so badly, and had to start again.

"Hello, Takaishi residence," said a light female voice.

"Hi, it's Yagami Taichi, is Takeru there?" he asked, his words a little rushed, but she seemed to understand.

"No, he just left. He said he was on the way to see Hikari, so he shouldn't be too long in getting to you. Is there something wrong, dear?" she asked politely.

Taichi told her that no, nothing was wrong, and yes, they were fine. He said his goodbyes and hung up the phone.

"He's on his way," he called in to Tailmon. He heard Hikari mumble something indistinctly from behind the door.

"Good." There was a pause as Hikari shouted something incomprehensible, and there was yet another thud. "Tai, open the door. She's moved."

Tai shoved the door open and almost fell over the body of his sister, curled up around herself, her hands on either side of her head.

"I don't want to go," she mumbled, "please don't leave me here."

Taichi dropped to the floor beside her and pulled her up towards him so as her head was resting on his lap. He brushed the hair away form her forehead and felt it.

"She's freezing."

Tailmon came to sit on her partner's legs, pawing gently at the girl's chest, which rose and fell erratically.

"Don't go!" she shouted, her arm twitching suddenly.

"'Kari, we're right here. We're not going anywhere," Tai said softly, taking one of her freezing hands into his.

The tide turned slightly, dragging her away from her former position ever so slightly.

She was so cold, her fingers and toes quickly becoming numb and her teeth buzzing in her head. She hadn't been in the Dark Ocean for long, but she was beginning to feel the cold luring her to sleep, and as she watched, her mother and her father both turned their backs on her and walked away, following behind Tailmon. She raised herself up onto her elbows.

"Please don't leave me!" she called into the mist as they walked away from her. "I don't want to be alone any more."

Through the fog she saw another shape approaching. The shape soon morphed into her brother, and as Tai grew closer, she saw a disapproving expression spread across his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked him, sitting up ever so slightly. "What have I done?"

"I can't believe you, Kari. You've disgraced all of us," he spat, his mass of hair quivering ever so slightly as he moved. "Don't bother coming home."

"Tai!" she shouted, struggling to raise herself from the floor of the Dark Ocean. "I'm sorry Tai! I didn't mean it. Come back, Tai. Don't leave me here."

He turned and walked towards a group of people whose faces became clearer as he got closer to them. They were the other digidestined, looking down on her in disgust. Her eyes darted between them, scanning their face for any sign or friendship or kindness. She found none.

She didn't have the energy to support herself any longer, and flopped back into the sea, water covering her face and body entirely. She tried to breathe in, but all that rushed in was cold, salty seawater that made her lungs and eyes burn.

Taichi watched and listened in horror as his baby sister called out his name, begging him to come back.

"I'd never leave you, Kari. I'm right here with you," he said in a low, soothing tone, holding her hand gently in his. "Stay with me."

Even as he said it, Hikari gave a single sputtering cough, turning her head to the side as water began to flow from her lips as she retched, barely drawing breath between each convulsion of her abdomen.

"What's happening, Tailmon?" Tai asked as the carpet beneath his knees began to soak up the salty water.

"The Dark Ocean's trying to absorb her again. This has never happened before, though. It's usually just in her mind. I can see the ocean around her though. It's above her head, so she doesn't think she can breathe any more. She thinks it's all real, what they're saying to her in there. She thinks we don't want her any more."

Tai looked up at the digimon desperately. "How do we get through to her? Tell her we still need her here?"

"Only Takeru has ever been able to do that, and until he gets here, we'll have to keep trying to get through to her."

She had barely closed her mouth before there was a banging on the door, and a shout of Hikari's name.

Tai gently laid his sister's head back on the ground, and shot to the door, letting Takeru, red-faced and out of breath.

"I came as soon as I felt it. It's the Dark Ocean, isn't it?"

He didn't wait for an answer but moved past Taichi as soon as he stepped aside.

He fell to his knees beside her, and lifted her so as her head drooped against his shoulder.

"Hikari-chan," he said softly.

She began to cough once again, her entire body shaking as she did so.

"She's out of the water!" Tailmon said softly. "She can breathe again."

"I'm right here Hikari-chan."

"I can see you, Takeru-kun," she said softly. He was walking towards her, his arms held out towards her. "I don't want to be alone any more! You have to help me."

She watched as he moved towards her and settled himself down beside her, fitting her body ever so comfortably against his.

"I'll never leave you, Hikari-chan," he said. His body warmed her skin and she moved further into his arms, revelling in the warmth that spread through her body slowly.

"I'm so cold, and I don't know where I am," she said quietly to him. "And I'm tired. Why am I in the Dark Ocean again?"

He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Don't worry about it, Hikari-chan. I'm here. I'll take care of you," he said as he stood up, cradling her easily in his arms as though she were nothing more than a feather.

"Thank you, Takeru-kun," she said softly. "I love you."

He laid her gently on her bed as she opened her eyes.

"I love you too, Hikari-chan," he said softly. She smiled at him, reaching out to take one of his hands in hers. "Now get some sleep."

"Tell Taichi I'm sorry. I didn't mean for the Dark Ocean to come again, and now he'll be worried about me. He shouldn't worry about me," she said, blinking weakly at him. "Not when I have you."

He watched as she settled down to sleep facing him, her hands still grasping at his as though if she let go, he would simply fade away into the ocean once again. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead once again, before he laid his head on the bed next to her, joining her in sleep.


End file.
